Wipeout 3

1999 video game
the 2012 video game

In addition to shields, each racing craft contains airbrakes for navigating tight corners, as well as a "Hyperthrust" option. Players can activate Hyperthrust to increase their speed, but using Hyperthrust drains energy from the shields, making the craft more vulnerable. Scattered across each raceway are weapon grids that bestow random power ups or items. Wipeout 3 adds new weapons in addition to the five retained from previous games. Players can engage in two player racing via a split screen option. At the same time, Psygnosis sought to make the game more accessible to new players of the fast paced racer, and kept early courses easier for these players; the difficulty was adjusted for later courses so that experts would still experience a challenge. The look and feel of the futuristic courses was bounded by the desire to remain believable: Wipeout 3 lead artist Nicky Westcott said that "[Psygnosis] tried to make it look like a believable future, instead of making the sky toxic orange with 10 moons flying around and the world gone mad. It's very low key [and] a lot more refined". Wipeout 3 Special Edition featured many minor changes to gameplay, such as different craft physics, auto loading of saves and AI bug fixes. In addition, eight courses from previous Wipeout titles (three from Wipeout and five from Wipeout 2097), plus two hidden prototype circuits previously only available in the Japanese version of Wipeout 3. Wipeout 3 was the last game in the series made for PlayStation. The next entry in the Wipeout series, entitled Wipeout Fusion, was released in 2002 exclusively for PlayStation 2. The game introduced new courses, crafts, and weaponry, as well as enhanced artificial intelligence.

Continuing the tradition set by the first game, Wipeout 3 contains electronica offerings from various artists, including The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, and the Propellerheads. Psygnosis' development manager, Enda Carey, focused on bringing together music early in the game's development cycle, instead of as an afterthought or last minute addition to the game. Unlike previous soundtracks, Psygnosis selected a single music director, DJ Sasha, who worked with artists to create a cohesive soundtrack.

Critical reception of Wipeout 3 was positive; the game has a critic average of 87/100 Game Rankings, and a metascore of 89 at Metacritic. Reviewers who gave Wipeout 3 lower marks noted a sense of disappointment that the series broke little new ground. Stuart Miles of The Times admitted Wipeout 3 was a good game, but felt that he had been expecting much more from the sequel: "It's as if the programmers have concerned themselves more with the overall look and feel, rather than further developing the existing gameplay". Joe Fielder of GameSpot summed up its review of the game by judging the game an excellent racer, but not able to beat Wipeout 2097 as the best futuristic racing game of all time. Both Scary Larry of GamePro and Baldric of GameRevolution praised the new game features, specifically the new weapons and ability to challenge friends via splitscreen. Wipeout 3s soundtrack and sound effects were also lauded. Critics judged Wipeout 3's learning curve steep and unforgiving. David Canter of The San Diego Union Tribune described the difficulty progression as "ludicrous", with the tournament game mode going from "easy as pie to tough as nails". Though the analogue stick was judged as helping to increase control over the onscreen craft, Jeff Lundrigan of NextGen said of the game, "It's not terrible, but for a series known for its 'gee whiz' level of quality, this is a serious misstep." In 2021, Retro Gamer noted Special Edition as one of the best PS1 racing games. Despite generally positive reviews of the game, Wipeout 3 was not a commercial success.